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SAN ANTONIO — Junior Melvin Johnson III led five Roadrunners in double figures with 21 points and UTSA raced past Northwestern State, 80-62, on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners improved to 11-7 overall and to 4-1 in league play for the first time since 2005. Meanwhile, the Demons fell to 9-9 (2-2 SLC).
Johnson III poured in 16 of his game-high 21 in the first half to help propel UTSA to a 16-point halftime advantage. The Dallas native was 7-for-10 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line, and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line en route to his fifth 20-point outing of the season.
Junior Kannon Burrage added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while sophomores Jeromie Hill (12) and Igor Nujic (11) and junior Michael Hale III (10) also reached double figures.
“That was a good win against a good basketball team," UTSA head coach Brooks Thompson said after his team's fifth win in the last six games. "They’re athletic and I thought the way they play would affect us offensively. I thought our guys stayed composed and, for 35 minutes, our team played as good as they can.”
UTSA stormed out to an early 18-8 lead through the first six minutes behind nine points from Johnson III.
Northwestern State cut the deficit to four with just over four minutes left when a Tyler Washington 3-pointer from the right wing made it 33-29.
However, the Roadrunners used a 12-0 run to close the half and take a 45-29 advantage into the locker room. Johnson III drained a pair of treys and Hale III knocked down a three at the buzzer to highlight the half-ending stretch.
Johnson III made 5-of-6 from the floor in the first stanza, including all three attempts from long distance, to help UTSA shoot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) overall, 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from downtown and 8-of-9 at the line.
A 3-pointer by Gary Stewart from the right corner cut the deficit to 11 midway through the second half. Louis Ellis then answered a Nujic basket with a trey from the same corner to make it 62-52 with 8:46 remaining, but the Demons got no closer.
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners built the lead to as many as 23 in the final minutes in securing their eight conference home victory in the last nine tries in what was the 400th regular season contest held in the Convocation Center.
UTSA shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) for the game and made 11-of-22 (50 percent) from beyond the arc and 17-for-20 (85 percent) at the charity stripe. The Birds also out-rebounded the Demons, 41-32, and outscored NSU in the paint, 31-18.
Shamir Davis led the Demons with 17 points, while William Mosley added 15, a dozen rebounds and six blocks. Ellis pitched in with 10 on the strength of three 3-pointers.
Northwestern State shot just 34.5 percent (19-of-55), including just 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) from downtown.
UTSA will renew the I-35 rivalry with Texas State (8-9, 1-3 SLC) on Saturday in San Marcos. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.